NOVEMBER 2012
About the Project
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation
(MassDOT) is leading an effort to improve and expand
Boston South Station for the future. South Station is an
iconic and historic transportation center and the principal
passenger rail hub in New England. It is the northern
terminus for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Acela and
Regional rail service, as well as the Lake Shore Limited
service from Chicago. South Station also serves the
MBTA commuter rail system, and it connects to the MBTA
Red Line and to Logan International Airport via the MBTA
Silver Line. The adjacent South Station bus terminal is
also a hub for local, regional, and intercity bus services.
MassDOT is collaborating with the Federal Railroad
Administration, the MBTA, Amtrak, the City of Boston,
and many other stakeholders – including the general
public – to develop a plan of action and preliminary
designs to expand and improve South Station. This
effort is funded by a grant from the U. S. Department of
Transportation High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail
Photo: Public Domain
Elevated tracks on Atlantic Avenue at South Station in the early
1900s, part of Boston’s mass transit system.
Program, with additional funding from the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts. This effort will include analyzing
traffic, track, signal, and railroad operations at South
Station, as well as performing planning, engineering, and
environmental permitting work. No construction activities
are included in this phase of the project. Planning and
design for improvements to the sidewalks, bicycle facilities,
and roadways around South Station will be included in the
project, as will an analysis of the potential for future joint
development at an expanded South Station.
During this multi-year effort, MassDOT welcomes your
interest in South Station, your participation, and your
ideas. See the box on page 2 for contact information and
suggestions on how to participate in the project.
A New Future for South Station
South Station currently operates well beyond its design
capacity, which creates serious challenges for efficient
train operations and comfortable passenger queuing.
Originally constructed with 28 tracks, South Station now
has only 13. The reduced number of available tracks
has long contributed to delays in train service and now
limits the ability of the station to meet the demand for
current and future growth in rail service. The existing
MBTA rail vehicle storage locations are also not
sufficient to address current and future needs.
Goals of the Project
The first step in this project is to collect the data needed
to address questions about South Station, its current
uses, and its future requirements. MassDOT planners
need to know, for example, how many trains or buses
will be arriving at and departing from South Station in
2040? Where will those trains and buses be going? How
many riders will be traveling via Amtrak on the Northeast
Corridor or taking MBTA commuter rail trains? The
project team will collect these kinds of data in order to:
•
Perform an analysis of potential expansion
alternatives to determine how best to improve
South Station and its affiliated infrastructure,
including a new rail vehicle layover site.
•
Plan for the relocation of the adjacent U.S. Postal
Service General Mail Facility on Dorchester Avenue
to utilize that site to expand South Station.
•
Plan and design an enhanced passenger
environment at and around South Station. This
will include improved passenger facilities and
amenities in the station and on the platforms,
as well as streetscape, pedestrian, bicycle, and
vehicular improvements around the station. In
addition, MassDOT and the City of Boston are
South Station Expansion | NOVEMBER 2012
1
planning for a future in which Dorchester Avenue
is re-opened for public use.
•
Consider opportunities for joint public/private
development over and in concert with an expanded
South Station.
MassDOT anticipates that these efforts will lay the
groundwork to:
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How to Get Involved
MassDOT will provide a variety of opportunities for you
to meet with the project team, learn about the South
Station Expansion work, and share your ideas and
opinions about planning for the future of South Station.
There will be many ways to participate:
•
Improve the performance of existing and future
passenger rail service to and from Boston.
In-person events such as open houses and
community briefings
•
Enable growth in high-speed and other intercity
passenger rail service in the northeastern United
States, at a time when both the roadway and
aviation networks are at or over capacity.
Electronic updates: visit the project website
to sign up for project updates and learn
about other opportunities to participate at:
www.massdot.state.ma.us/southstationexpansion.
•
Sign up for the project mailing list by clicking the
“Get Involved” tab on the website.
•
Contact project manager Katherine Fichter via email
or mail: katherine.fichter@state.ma.us, or Katherine
Fichter, South Station Project Manager, MassDOT,
10 Park Plaza, Room 4150, Boston, MA 02116.
Support sustainable economic growth and
improved quality of life throughout the Northeast
Corridor, including Boston.
Provide for a more attractive and enhanced MBTA
commuter rail service, with associated benefits
such as increased statewide transportation access
and environmental sustainability.
We welcome your participation and invite you to be part of
this exciting project!
When it all began . . .
Prior to the construction of South Station, the passenger
railroads serving Boston and New England – including
the New York and New England Railroad; the Old Colony
Railroad; the Boston and Albany Railroad; and the Boston
and Providence Railroad – had their own passenger
terminals within Boston. Construction of South Station
combined the south-side terminals in a single location,
known as a “union station,” with substantial efficiencies and
conveniences for both the railroads and their passengers.
South Station was designed by the architectural firm
of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge and built by the firms of
Norcross Brothers and Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co.
It was constructed at a cost of $3.6 million.
During World War II, South Station handled 125,000
passengers each day, but by the 1950s several railroads
serving the region had gone bankrupt and passenger rail
service had declined, due in part to the construction of
the interstate highway system and the embrace of private
automobiles as the preferred means of travel for many
Americans. Elements of South Station were sold off over
many years, and the U.S. Postal Service bought adjacent
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South Station Expansion | NOVEMBER 2012
land for a mail-sorting facility. The remaining station
gradually declined and fell into disrepair.
The MBTA bought South Station from the Boston
Redevelopment Authority in 1978. Working with the
Federal Railroad Administration and with Amtrak,
the MBTA then undertook a major and much-needed
renovation of South Station, which resulted in the station
that we have today. In 1995, the MBTA also completed
work on an intercity bus terminal, which has direct
connections to I-93 and the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The MassDOT South Station Expansion project will
ensure that the station continues to support efficient
and attractive intercity passenger rail service for the
northeastern United States, while also improving regional
commuter, public transit, and bus services.
Photo: Public Domain
South Station opened to the public on New Year’s Day,
1899. On its inaugural day, 62 trains departed from the
station. Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy III marked the
dedication of South Station as the largest railroad station
in the United States. Today, South Station is the second
largest transportation facility in New England (second only
to Logan Airport), but is substantially reduced from its
original size.